About Us

About Us

GeekGirlCon is an organization that works to empower women and girls to pursue their passions—whether they love science and technology, comics, literature, gaming, or anything else! Everybody is a geek at heart, in one way or another. Our mission is to ensure all these geeks are supported, welcomed, and encouraged to pursue what they love.

GeekGirlCon’s largest event is a two-day convention that gives female geeks and their supporters the opportunity to build a community, share facts and fandom, and learn how they can help promote the role of women and other underrepresented groups in geek culture. We also bring people together through social media and events in the greater Seattle area. We have a lot of fun doing this, although we aren’t afraid to also tackle some serious topics related to gender equality.

What makes us different from other events is one simple concept: conventions and conferences should include content for less-represented identities; this includes a focus on the contributions of women. Sure, our emphasis is on female geeks. But our real goal is to promote a culture that brings EVERYONE together to share their geeky quirks; celebrate the role of women in science, technology, media, and gaming; and build the next generation of strong, powerful geeks.

Our Mission

GeekGirlCon celebrates and honors the legacies of under-represented groups in science, technology, comics, arts, literature, game play, and game design. We do this by connecting geeks worldwide and creating an intersectional community that fosters the continued growth of women in geek culture. GeekGirlCon provides a safe space to spark conversations around social justice while encouraging unabashed geekiness.

Our Values

1. Welcome.

No “Geek Cred” is required to be part of GeekGirlCon, whether staff member, volunteer, fan, or con guest. Anyone who self-identifies as a geek and supports the achievements of women in geek culture can be a part of GeekGirlCon. (See #5, if you don’t believe us.)

2. Community.

It is not about “you” it is about “us,” so kick judgmental tendencies to the curb. GeekGirlCon works to create a supportive, woman-positive culture to grow professionally and personally.

3. Empowerment.

GeekGirlCon honors and celebrates the past achievements of female geeks while looking toward the future of woman-positive geekdom. Improving the spaces that female geeks inhabit will consequently improve the spaces that ALL geeks inhabit.

4. Diversity.

At GeekGirlCon, we take our commitment to diversity and inclusion seriously. We never remain complacent, and make every effort to foster diversity in the people who make up our community, as well as the programming that comprises our annual convention.

The diversity of our community reflects our commitment to diversity. Our volunteers come from an array of backgrounds. They bring unique experiences and insights to GeekGirlCon and, in the process, enhance the discourse within our organization.

5. Inclusivity.

GeekGirlCon strives to be representative of our greater, diverse community, and we embrace all types of people, PERIOD. There is no way to list all the subsets of folks that now or in the future will make up the body of GeekGirlCon. ALL ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, sizes, abilities, ethnicities, nationalities, races, creeds, religions, familial statuses, physical and mental abilities, alien species, earth species, education levels, science specializations, operating system preference, fandoms, etc., are welcome. Anyone supporting women in geeky pursuits is welcome. (See #1, if you don’t believe us.)

History

Our Origin Story

GeekGirlCon is a community-driven effort, and it started that way as well. The first inkling of GeekGirlCon took form at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010. Mixed into days of programming focused on superheroes, blockbuster films, and popular television celebrities was a panel called “Geek Girls Exist.” Despite this panel being scheduled at the same time as the popular Scott Pilgrim panel, the room was packed. This panel dedicated to female geeks and nerds motivated a huge audience to come together and celebrate geek girls. Harnessing the momentum, these women and their supporters connected via social media and started tossing ideas around. They began to coalesce into an organization and a purpose.

After many, many hours of hard work and planning, on October 8, 2011, the first-ever GeekGirlCon opened its doors at the Seattle Center’s Northwest Rooms and the EMP Museum. The two-day convention was a huge success. Nearly 4,000 people celebrated the female geek, including 400 attendees under 10 years old. The convention showcased 70+ hours of programming supported by 50 volunteers and 30 staff members (also 100% volunteers). Leading up to the convention, GeekGirlCon put on more than 50 events to connect with other geeks, raise needed funds, and build a strong community.

Today this grassroots-led, all-volunteer organization is growing. Now with a volunteer staff of 50 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the organization works tirelessly to elevate the profile of geeky women across all types of geeky activities through social media and a multitude of events, including the annual GeekGirlCon convention in Seattle.

Our Founding Members

Because GeekGirlCon grew out of a community of volunteers, the staff that produced GeekGirlCon 2011 are considered founders of the organization.